AUTHOR ARCHIVES

Eric Katz

Eric Katz writes about federal agency operations and management. His deep coverage of Veterans Affairs, Homeland Security, the Environmental Protection Agency and U.S. Postal Service has earned him frequent guest spots on national radio and television news programs. Eric joined Government Executive in the summer of 2012 and previously worked for The Financial Times. He is a graduate of The George Washington University.

February 28, 2017
The House will take another crack at expediting the disciplinary process for employees at the Veterans Affairs Department, congressional aides told Government Executive Tuesday, with a new bill looking to preserve more due process rights than previous attempts at reform. The new legislation will take a more tempered approach than...

February 28, 2017
In March 2013, the Obama administration ordered a sequestration of $80.5 billion from federal agencies’ budgets. The cuts, as required in the 2011 Budget Control Act, caused immediate chaos across government, forcing agency leaders to implement emergency plans that in some cases sent employees home for several days without pay....

February 27, 2017
The Trump administration will require $54 billion in cuts at non-national security federal agencies in its preliminary fiscal 2018 budget proposal, an Office of Management and Budget official said Monday. Nearly every domestic agency will shoulder a share of the reductions. The spending decreases will offset an equal increase in...

February 27, 2017
This story has been updated with additional details from OMB and the White House. The Trump administration will require $54 billion in cuts at non-national security federal agencies in its preliminary fiscal 2018 budget proposal, an Office of Management and Budget official said Monday. Nearly every domestic agency will shoulder...

February 24, 2017
President Trump signed an executive order on Friday creating new task forces at every federal agency that will identify regulations for elimination or modification. The order was the second Trump issued to cut federal regulation in the opening weeks of his presidency, following a requirement that agencies cut or modify...

February 24, 2017
Bethyn Sundbeck was driving in Utah near Hill Air Force Base with her nine-month old son when she got into a car accident. Her husband was thousands of miles away, en route to his new installation in Alabama. Sundbeck spent hours in the emergency room. The injuries were minor, but...

February 23, 2017
Congress and the Trump administration are working closely on a bill to make it easier to fire employees at the Veterans Affairs Department, according to the agency’s new leader. VA is working with both the House and Senate in drafting an accountability bill, department Secretary David Shulkin told Fox and...

February 22, 2017
Senior professionals at federal agencies would be eligible for higher pay if their appraisal system passes muster with the Office of Personnel Management, under a recently issued proposed rule. The rule would implement a law from 2008 and drew praise from the Senior Executives Association, which represents Senior Executive Service...

February 22, 2017
The Trump administration will deliver its first budget to Congress in mid-March, and the president confirmed Wednesday it will contain major cuts for federal agencies. Trump “inherited a mess” from the Obama administration, the president told reporters at the top of a meeting with newly sworn-in Office of Management and...

February 21, 2017
The Homeland Security Department has issued new guidance to implement President Trump’s executive orders on immigration and border security, giving several components more authority to enforce laws and hire new personnel. The memorandums by DHS Secretary John Kelly will “take the shackles off” Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol...